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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 5 Chapter 4.2

「Well done Yuiga-kun. Kira hasn’t killed anyone yet, so she’s not an assassin. She’s a soon to be assassin. 」

Kira looks upward feeling embarrassed and happy.

「Yuiga-kun. If you don’t mind, will you be Kira’s first time? 」

「No thank you. 」

Seeing Isshin’s smile after giving the immediate answer, Kira collapses on the bed yelling that she is ‘shocked’.

Setting Kira aside, Isshin looked at the last person who came into the room and his expression hardened.

Tsujimi Tetsunoshin, the well-known bodyguard of Yoshino Saki, transferred to Third High School and is a junior. His eyes, which are directed at me, are sharp as a knife. They are bloodthirsty.

The nurse in black, who had brought the two together, stood in front of the bed and looked down at Isshin.

「I’m the one. 」

「Yeah, that’s right. Nice to meet you 《Queen》」, said Isshin smiling.

The nurse in black who was just called Queen raised the corners of her mouth into a grin.

「I’m honored that you know what they call me on the streets. 」

《Tsukuyomi-kai》 , the only lawless area on Nanaejima, is considered a special student zone. A group called The Three Skulls are in control of the area. It has been that way for a long time, and according to rumors it may have been created along with the island. On Nanaejima, where regulations are strict, they have established a means of smuggling all sorts of goods from outside the island. He accepts jobs there, but it seems that they also accept jobs from ordinary students.

A mysterious woman called 《Queen》 is the leader of the Three Skulls. It is said that she controls the Three Skulls with her skill and perfect leadership, but her background is completely unknown.

Isshin chuckles to himself. I was just trying to play a trick on her but I couldn’t be happier to be hit like this.

「That’s my line. I never thought I’d meet someone who is on par with the GREAT 7. 」

「On par with the GREAT 7 eh? 」, chuckled Kira, who was next to the nurse in black with a strange expression on her face.

Did I say something funny? Isshin tilts his head and asks the nurse in black, 「So what business does Queen have with this sick person? 」

「I told you it’s a check-up. So let’s have you answer the nurse in black’s question. 」

Saying that, the nurse in black sat down in the chair that Inspector Fudo Akira had been sitting on. Kira sat on the bed and Tetsu stood silently by the wall.

「Do you know Saki Yoshino? 」

At that question, Isshin smiled without a hint of panic.

「Hmmm, who could say? 」

The price of dodging the question was a sharp pain that made his body twist in agony. The nurse in black suddenly stabbed her index finger into Isshin’s side, which until a few days ago had a hole in it.

While causing Isshin to twist in pain, the nurse in black says indifferently, 「One warning. The nurse in black hates boring answers. So the patient should answer what you are asked honestly. But I don’t mind if you lie. However if you do, tell a lie that that I won’t figure out, or else. 」

Isshin is enduring this pain while being puzzled by the conditions given to him by the nurse in black.

「So, do you know Saki Yoshino? 」

It was the same question. Isshin is worried about what to do.

「…I know her. I heard about her from Yama-kun. 」

「Thank you for taking care of her on the battlefield the other day. I thank you on behalf of Tetsu who wasn’t there. 」

「You should tell Yama-kun that. I haven’t done anything. 」

「I know that stuuuupid. It’s just an expression. Don’t take it so seriously, scum. 」

The nurse in black suddenly despises me with all her might. Isshin was slightly annoyed.

「So then…」

「I think you were stabbed last Friday. 」

「No, this injury…」

「I don’t want to hear your lame excuses. I’m not going to call the police. 」

The nurse in black seemed to be able to see through everything as she smiled, but Isshin kept his mouth shut.

「You know what? There was a kid who went missing the day you were stabbed. There is a record of her having ostensibly left the island. The most interesting thing though is that when I called her parents’ house to confirm her whereabouts, a relative answered the phone and said she was there. But when I visited her parents’ house on the mainland, her mother answered and said she was studying at school on Nanaejima. 」

Queen, who seems to have investigated thoroughly, asks wholeheartedly, 「Who do you think the missing kid is? 」

「…It’s Saki Yoshino isn’t it? 」

Listening to Isshin’s reply, the nurse in black grinned and said, 「That’s a good answer. 」

「As you know, we love Saki Yoshino and call her Yun. So Yun was summoned by an upperclassman on the Friday when you were stabbed. It was Ibara who she visited. And the place she went to was the Adventure club, the club that you belong to, and the club room where you were found bleeding. 」

「…」

「Now, it makes me think that there is some sort of casual relationship going on, but what do you say? 」

「…」

「I’ll ask one more time, think carefully before you answer. And to be clear, I don’t think you know Yun’s whereabouts. To be honest, I don’t expect to get any useful information about Yun’s whereabouts from you. In other words, you have zero value to me. So why did I come here? It’s because I want to ask why you were stabbed by Yun. 」

Isshin’s expression didn’t change, but a bead of sweat ran down his cheek.

「I came here on a whim. In other words, I don’t’ care if you’re in here weeping and pissing yourself to death. Even without you we will find Yun. 」

「…」

「Now, you can either choose to be honest and tell me everything you know, or you can make jokes that amuse me. 」

The nurse in black grins a cold smile. Her eyes that are so cold are also filled with a burning fire. If those cold eyes keep boring into me, my skin is going to fall off from frostbite.

Perhaps it’s as she said, this black nurse doesn’t care about Isshin’s life. And what’s most frightening is the fact that Kira Kanna, a gifted assassin, is sitting on my bed right now. There is no bigger threat than this.

After thinking about it for a bit, Isshin finally spoke quietly.

「It was about a month and a half ago. Yoshino-san was asked by Ikusaba-san to investigate the 《ruins》 of South Red mall. As a result, she suffered some sort of accident. But then Yoshino-san was picked up by you and the Three Skulls in Tsukuyomi-kai. 」

「Yeah, Tetsu there picked her up. 」

「There must have been a memory lapse at that point. 」

「Ah. Yun said, ‘I should have been sleeping in my dorm room’. Then she cried and complained that Tetsu must have taken her and done some shady things. 」

「Sister, please stop joking like that. 」

「You’re so boring Tetsu. Well, keep going Yuiga. 」

「When the time was right, Yoshino-san returned to school. Together with Tsujimi there. In her normal school life, Yoshino-san happened to meet Ikusaba-san. Of course Ikusaba-san knew Yoshino-san. But Yoshino-san completely ignores Ikusaba-san. Ikusaba-san must have been confused by this. That’s because Yoshino-san disappeared completely during the request the other day, but she reappeared as if nothing had happened. Ikusaba-san tried to contact Yoshino-san to ask her about it, but was blocked by Tsujimi-san. 」

「That’s the stalker case wasn’t it? Since I’m cautious I asked Juugo Yama, a member of your Adventure club, to do something about the battlefield. 」

「We helped with that. While I was probably planning to defeat Ikusaba-san, I realized something from my interactions with Yama-kun and the others. 」

「Realized? Realized what? 」

「A 《contradiction》.」

At the mention of that keyword, the emotion drained from the nurse in black’s face.

「Go on. 」

「At first it was only mild suspicion, if any. However, that suspicion turned into conviction after actually entering and investigating the 《ruin》 in South Red mall. It was an impossible event. It truly was a 《contradiction》.」

「Let’s hear it. What did you learn? 」

As the three of them listened close, Isshin told them the truth.

「Saki Yoshino-san died once at the 《ruin》 in South Red mall. 」

「No, that’s idiotic! There’s no way that is what happened. I call bullshit! 」

「Shut up Tetsu. 」

At hearing that low voice, Tetsu shuts his mouth.

「Hey Yuiga. Why do you call this a 《contradiction》?」

「I knew of similar cases in the past. 」

「So that’s what you mean? 」

The nurse in black let out a heavy sigh.

「Of course you know how the last 《game》 was run right? 」

「Yes. It was our Ruri who found the 《contradiction》 last time. 」

「《Contradiction》 is a gap in events that should never exist. When it is discovered, the leprechaun, an entity that should never be seen, reacts. That is what the 《game》 is all about. 」